timswar:Plenty of peopl can use the restroom with one hand, is this guy's other hand so weak he can't accomplish that?

I'm not sure how reasonable it is that he's allowed any implement that could potentially be a weapon. Of course, it's also unreasonable to hold him indefinitely until you figure out what to charge him with.

Lady Beryl Ersatz-Wendigo:I don't mean to sound superficial, but al Qaeda could really use a couple of image consultants on staff. Why are these guys always so ugly? There are plenty of good looking men in the Middle East, so there's no reason why these whackjobs have to look this revolting.

what, that there is a hand for doing clean things (right), and a hand for doing unclean things(left)? That this is so pervasive a part of the culture, that when the Basque controlled what is now Spain, they changed the very word for "left" - instead of being based on the latin "siniestra" (from which we get the word "sinister") it based on "ezker."

Yes, there is no "clean" hand, and no "dirty" hand. You win the prize. The left hand is hell, the right hand is heaven, though. The left hand - exactly as the post you were replying to said - is typically used for dirty tasks. The right hand, for clean tasks. While the Koran itself doesn't say much of anything on the subject, it is very very much part of Sunnah, being mentioned in lots and lots of Hadith.

Rufus Lee King:I've been reading the Burton translation of "Arabian Nights", and got the impression that eating with your left hand is considered impolite/insulting/sacrilegious among the Muslims. Just an impression, as I said; not worth getting upset over, or anything

Rufus Lee King:I've been reading the Burton translation of "Arabian Nights", and got the impression that eating with your left hand is considered impolite/insulting/sacrilegious among the Muslims. Just an impression, as I said; not worth getting upset over, or anything

It's not inherent to the religion. It is inherent to the history and culture of that geographical region, and pretty much any other geographical region where you grow up without necessarily having access to toilet paper (or trees with large leaves, books printed on thin paper, etc). If the only thing you gots to wipe with is your left hand, then you don't do anything else with that hand.

Except for it being Sunnah, and Sunnah being part of the religion - sure.

To say there is/was a distinction between culture and religion for much of that "geographic region" is a silly thing to do.

Fine, I'll clarify: it's been part of the culture for longer than the religion has been around, and unless I'm badly misremembering there was nothing in the Qur'an about it. Stuff that came later, came later.

None of which really matter to this thread, which has been sadly falling behind in its spork pictures.

timswar:Plenty of peopl can use the restroom with one hand, is this guy's other hand so weak he can't accomplish that?

My guess is, by "properly" they mean that he's from a culture where the left hand is the "unclean" hand and the right hand is the "clean" hand. Certain things are only supposed to be done with the right hand; other things are only supposed to be done with the left hand.

So yes, one can make do, but it would roughly analogous to keeping someone handcuffed during meals and telling them that they could always eat with their feet (assuming that they were actually flexible enough that they COULD).

"Guilty of three charges related to "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to stir up racial hatred

"Guilty of one charge of "possession of threatening, abusive or insulting recordings of sound, with intent to stir up racial hatred

"Guilty of one charge of "possessing a document containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism"[25] under the Terrorism Act 2000, s58. This charge under the Terrorism Act of 2000 related to his possession of an Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad, an Al Qaeda Handbook and other propaganda materials produced by Abu Hamza.

IamAwake:Vodka Zombie: I've met people who actually believe this about Muslims.

what, that there is a hand for doing clean things (right), and a hand for doing unclean things(left)? That this is so pervasive a part of the culture, that when the Basque controlled what is now Spain, they changed the very word for "left" - instead of being based on the latin "siniestra" (from which we get the word "sinister") it based on "ezker."

Yes, there is no "clean" hand, and no "dirty" hand. You win the prize. The left hand is hell, the right hand is heaven, though. The left hand - exactly as the post you were replying to said - is typically used for dirty tasks. The right hand, for clean tasks. While the Koran itself doesn't say much of anything on the subject, it is very very much part of Sunnah, being mentioned in lots and lots of Hadith.

But go on thinking people who say such things are stupid.

Please do call us when you find your way into the 21st Century, okay? And, please, could you stop by the store and pick up the point you seem to have completely missed? They might even be on sale.

I'd love to talk more, but I need to grab some lunch from Burger King. I am going to eat it with my hands "Muslim Style," and not in the dainty, knife-and-fork, way Real Uhmerikans eat.

johnperkins:FullMetalPanda:He's Muslim. It's against their religion to do anything else with the hand they wipe their ass with.

So...he's perfectly able to go to the bathroom, turn the tap on and off, etc. with one hand. He's just unwilling to.

FTA: "His lawyers say he is unable to use toilets properly and can't turn taps on or off."

That's the difference between "unable to use toilets properly" and "unable to use toilets."

Again, it would be like someone telling you, "You're perfectly able to eat with your feet. You're just unwilling to." (Leaving aside the fact that not everybody does have the flexibility to eat with their feet.)

Fark a spork. Replace that hook with a pinky pie figurine. Shows our contempt for terrorist when he has to wave that little-pink pony around all day, and our contempt of ponies when he wipes his ass with her.

I can't even imagine having to wipe my butt with a hook.I think his lawyers need to realize that if he had not been playing with dynamite in the first place, he wouldn't have lost his hand and his eye in an explosion and he would not have NEEDED a hook instead of a hand. Secondly, is he finding it hard to eat, wipe his ass or turn on the water taps because using his other hand is forbidden by some obscure Muslim law ?But what REALLY interested me, was the sidebar where Jennifer Love Hewitt is telling everyone about her boobs being worth $Millions$ of dollars - something I can really appreciate.

Vodka Zombie:FullMetalPanda: He's Muslim. It's against their religion to do anything else with the hand they wipe their ass with.

I've met people who actually believe this about Muslims.

It may not be true for ALL Muslims, but it's certainly true for SOME Muslims. It's also true in a lot of Asian cultures that aren't Muslim. Korea, for example, is probably one of the least Muslim countries on Earth, but the left hand is still considered to be "dirty" or "inferior" there, and there are cultural rules against doing certain things with the left hand. The majority of non-Muslim Indians and Nepalis had cultural taboos concerning the left hand.

Even European culture has had for centuries the idea that the left is somehow "bad." Witness the English word sinister.

So you've "met people who actually believe this about Muslims," hunh? Have you ever met any actual Muslims?

ciberido:Vodka Zombie: FullMetalPanda: He's Muslim. It's against their religion to do anything else with the hand they wipe their ass with.

I've met people who actually believe this about Muslims.

It may not be true for ALL Muslims, but it's certainly true for SOME Muslims. It's also true in a lot of Asian cultures that aren't Muslim. Korea, for example, is probably one of the least Muslim countries on Earth, but the left hand is still considered to be "dirty" or "inferior" there, and there are cultural rules against doing certain things with the left hand. The majority of non-Muslim Indians and Nepalis had cultural taboos concerning the left hand.

Even European culture has had for centuries the idea that the left is somehow "bad." Witness the English word sinister.

So you've "met people who actually believe this about Muslims," hunh? Have you ever met any actual Muslims?

Actual Muslims?

I've met many, and I think all of them weren't rooted in the archaic, and wildly irrelevant, notion of a "dirty hand." In fact, most would laugh at someone trying to use such a thing to disparage and insult their entire culture.

As an aside, you are also aware that Jews don't really use babies to make matzo, right?

Lady Beryl Ersatz-Wendigo:I don't mean to sound superficial, but al Qaeda could really use a couple of image consultants on staff. Why are these guys always so ugly? There are plenty of good looking men in the Middle East, so there's no reason why these whackjobs have to look this revolting.

illannoyin:Lady Beryl Ersatz-Wendigo: I don't mean to sound superficial, but al Qaeda could really use a couple of image consultants on staff. Why are these guys always so ugly? There are plenty of good looking men in the Middle East, so there's no reason why these whackjobs have to look this revolting.

Rufus Lee King:I've been reading the Burton translation of "Arabian Nights", and got the impression that eating with your left hand is considered impolite/insulting/sacrilegious among the Muslims. Just an impression, as I said; not worth getting upset over, or anything

I'm fairly certain that this USED to be a thing. I know it was a thing in dark ages Europe. You wipe with your left hand, and you never use your left hand at the table. You also shake with your right hand, because that way you can't have a weapon in it. (shake hands, you sick farks)

Elegy:Fark a spork. Replace that hook with a pinky pie figurine. Shows our contempt for terrorist when he has to wave that little-pink pony around all day, and our contempt of ponies when he wipes his ass with her.

FullMetalPanda:timswar: Plenty of peopl can use the restroom with one hand, is this guy's other hand so weak he can't accomplish that?

I'm not sure how reasonable it is that he's allowed any implement that could potentially be a weapon. Of course, it's also unreasonable to hold him indefinitely until you figure out what to charge him with.

He's Muslim. It's against their religion to do anything else with the hand they wipe their ass with.

i mean... i get some things go to tradition... and its not necessarily about the actual practicality... but...

SOAP.

and running water. we have it. use it. change the "all staff must wash hands" sign to include "and muslims," make sure the dispenser is full, and call it a farking day.